[quote=dhart760]The boat argument is moot since it would be a smaller boat I could store in the garage.
I would also say the argument of Santee, Ramona, Lakeside is also irrelevant and was fabricated to prove a point. Lets be honest these cities suck ( no offense to current residents) and the weather is comparable to AZ. In addition anyone who has driven during rush hours knows the commutes would be horrendous and one would lose roughly 2 hours of the day 5 days a week.
Lastly the elementary school rankings for these cities range from 4 to 8 out of 10, with median around 6 (www.schoolratings.com). [/quote]
david, sounds like you got erroneous info again. Here are the correct 2012 API scores for Santee, Ramona and Lakeside:
Santee Elementary Schools (K-8)
Prospect Avenue 849
Cajon Park 854
Hill Creek 858
Chet F. Harritt 872
Carlton Oaks 879
Carlton Hills 894
Pepper Drive 895
Rio Seco 895
Sycamore Canyon 950
Granted, Lakeside has lower-scoring schools and I suggested this area to park your boat in because you stated that part of the reason you wanted to move to AZ was to find someplace to park your boat. Since your boat is small enough to park on the side of the driveway (if no HOA) or in the garage, the subject is moot.
I chose Ramona because your earlier post stated you and/or your spouse worked in RB and again, you needed to park a boat. Ramona can be reached in ~30 minutes through the back of Poway/RB which is mostly 4 lane hwy.
However, I do not now feel that a nice Ramona spread is doable for your family given your latest post.
Santee is VERY convenient to RB and has SOLID school scores in relation to its home prices. An 835 and up CA API score is VERY satisfactory for an elementary school and nearly excellent for a HS. You won’t find this solid of API scores in the SD beach areas and certainly not in SDUSD consistently. And you cannot qualify to buy an SFR in the attendance areas of those over-900-scoring elementary schools in North, South and East County and very select neighborhoods within SDUSD. I just checked the avail SFR inventory in Santee for <=$350K which was about half shorts (which means they could easily sell for more than $350K). The only property I could find in the Sycamore Cyn Elem (API 950) attendance area was a short in need of some repair which was sold before it hit the MLS. As I stated, ALL the Elem School scores in Santee are VERY satisfactory and the shopping is very good and convenient there as well.
It has occurred to me that you could make application for a (cheaper) rental in an elem school attendance area scoring 850 and up if you decide to stay and attempt to save more money towards a future home purchase.
I had assumed you were a traditional 20%-down buyer and since you now indicate you have only ~5% down, that changes a lot of things. I now believe it would difficult for you to compete for a SS or many "traditional sales"in San Diego County in the current market, IMHO.
[quote=dhart760]While the areas we are focused on and can afford in AZ are 9's and 10's. [/quote]
How does one check school scores in AZ ... as as apples-to-apples comparison of CA API scores?
[quote=dhart760]As I mentioned to the OP, should we stay in CA I am fine with a much smaller house 3/2 1200sq. ft. I strongly feel if you are going to live here the goal is not to be in your house as much possible, where as in AZ sometimes this is unavoidable.
The challenge to stay in CA is not over extending ($450k) to get into a house that is in a somewhat desirable location that also needs 100k in work. [/quote]
david, based upon your latest post, I don’t think you are in a position to “choose” the “desirability” of the location in the current market in your price range. That will come later when you have gained some equity with at least one successful RE sale. The phrase “…needing “100K of work” is purely subjective. IOW, what YOU may think needs “100K in work” might only need $5-$8K in work in another buyers eyes, who might move in at COE and do the work later.
At the $350K price range with ~5% down, you are not in a category to be too choosy in this regard, IMHO.
[quote=dhart760]We use an affordable childcare provider and the rates is about $2200/mo. while rates in AZ tend to be about $1600/mo. For out little house with a yard and driveway we pay $2000/mo., granted it is by the beach but this is the sacrifice we make in square footage for location. However look around clairemont, Tierra Santa, etc this is about the going rate for a rental. [/quote]
david, I’m sure you’re aware that Clairemont and Tierrasanta are out of your price range for an SFR.
It was actually your “friend,” sdsurfer who, told us that you were sick of “living paycheck-to-paycheck.”:)
Your daycare expense of $2200 mo is ASTOUNDING and I’m surmising it is for two kids. In any case, I’m sure you can find a home day care situation for $1500 mo or less for the first child, especially if he/she is already trained.
Remember that even if you stayed in SD, your kid(s) would eventually go to school. If you choose a school attendance area carefully to pick an elementary school that still has DASH or a “six to six” program, you can get low cost after-school care for about ~$60 per week, which includes homework help. These programs are conducted at the school sites.
Your rent of $2000 is VERY high for 1000 sf. Based upon your posts, your exorbitant daycare and rent expenses are the main reasons why you have been unable to save a bigger downpayment to properly compete as a RE buyer in SD, IMHO.
For the above reasons, I now feel that you are a very “borderline” buyer for an unencumbered (no HOA/MR) SFR in the $350K range in SD County.
Thanks for your honest clarifications in your last post. I’m still going to opine that I don’t think you’ll be able to make enough sales proceeds off a home purchase in the PHX area to come back to SD and properly “compete” for the home you will want to live in, which will undoubtedly be higher-priced than it is today. Perhaps a move there will enable your family to save more money, if you can keep your PITI under $2000, not get stuck with too many repairs, reduce your daycare expense by at least $600 per month and your spouse can land and keep a $50K job there.
Whether you end up staying or moving, I now think you should endeavor to find something to rent for no more than $1600 mo. You can rent a 1100-1400 sf house in MANY areas in the city and county of SD for ~$1600.
